Gary Speed looks forward to the visit of one of his former clubs tonight and later talks about the Blades and himself.

"I am looking forward to it as I always do when it is Newcastle, home or away, but more importantly I think it is a good game for Sheffield United to play.

"When I was there they had everything - the stadium, the players, the fans - and with Bobby Robson in charge we finished 3rd, 4th and 5th in the top flight.

"They were great times running out at St James' Park in front of those 50,000 supporters, so it has been a great shame to see it spiral out of control a bit. But they still have those fans and spirit so they can never be underestimated.

"I am aware that some people in the game thought that they would go straight down again this season, but they have too many good players and characters with the likes of Nolan, Butt, Smith, Harper and Taylor.

"Newcastle has had a tough time in recent years but it is great that they seem to have come through it, and if the players win promotion they will be heroes up there."

On Chris Hughton (Newcastle manager)
"Looking from the outside he deserves enormous credit because he has been the rock, staying there when all around has floundered - taking training, being in front of the camera etc."

On United
"We have been unlucky, I think, but we recognise that there are areas we need to improve, and mistakes have cost us.

"You have to accept the old maxim that the harder you work the luckier you get and, although against Cardiff we did well in possession, we didn't fare so well when we didn't have the ball.

"If you score three times at home and still lose you have to look at things, and not just the defenders because the team should defend from the front.

"I am sure that we can all pass the ball better and we work every day to improve our work with and without the ball, our passing and movement, and in time we will improve.

"We have had such a big turnover in players in the last few months and many of them have had to go straight into the team before we would like.

"You don't see Arsene Wenger buying a young player and putting him straight in, he keeps them back and teaches them the style of play etc first, but we haven't had that luxury. "

On himself
"I am training but not missing playing, in fact I am training for the London Marathon, something I haven't done before. With not playing I didn't want to get fat and needed something to do to keep fit."